Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This week, while reading my Bible and a devotional, I was struck by the grace of God towards us. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, and sometimes, when you hear something over and over, you begin to find it less amazing. But earlier this week, things were different. The sentence in the devotional I was reading said something to the effect of: “If you want to know how much God loves you, consider how much He loves his Son Jesus.”
Jesus says as much in his prayer in John 17. In verse 23, Jesus prays: “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” I’ve read this verse many times, but this week, I was struck by the idea, the possibility, the suggestion that God loves us the way He loves Jesus. I had previously read this verse to indicate the fact that God loves us. I had not considered that this verse indicates that God loves us in the same manner than He loves the Son.
When Jesus was baptized, God spoke audibly “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” In John 3:35, Jesus says, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hands.” In John 5:20, Jesus says, “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.” In John 10:17, Jesus says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.” I can understand why God loves Jesus – Jesus is perfect and perfectly obeyed the will of the Father and listened to His voice. Jesus came to give his life as a sacrifice for us.
But Jesus clearly says that God loves us as God loves him. May God grant us unity, through the abiding presence of Christ, by means of the Holy Spirit, so that the world may know that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ And here are other prayers for peace in general: https://worldrelief.org/prayers-for-peace-in-the-world/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
Further announcements can be found in the weekly spotlight. And other church wide announcements can be found in our weekly bulletin.
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:00 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Pastor Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL